This invention relates to an upright storage cabinet and more particularly, an upright storage cabinet having a self-adjusting cam lock for locking the drawers of the cabinet.
Upright storage cabinets, as used in offices and similar environments, conventionally include an upright hollow housing which is open at the front so as to receive a plurality of file drawers therein in a vertically stacked arrangement. Such cabinets are well known and typically include a locking mechanism so as to securely lock the drawers in a closed position. These locking mechanisms employ a key-operated lock device which is mounted so as to be accessible from a front side of the housing, which lock device acts through a suitable intermediate linkage for controlling a vertical lock bar which is disposed adjacent one of the corners of the housing. The lock bar is in turn provided with locking elements which cooperate with the individual drawers so as to simultaneously lock them in the closed position. Some conventional cabinets are provided with locking mechanisms including a cam member which is rotated or otherwise actuated to vertically manipulate the lock bar to bring same into locking engagement with the drawers. One example of such a cabinet and locking mechanism is the commercially available PREMISE(copyright) pedestal storage unit sold by the assignee of the instant invention having a family code number of FS49DPFN.
The cam member of the above PREMISE(copyright) pedestal unit as illustrated in FIGS. 15-17 herein includes a cam lock assembly 100 which is mounted adjacent the rearwardly facing side of a front wall of the topmost drawer. The cam lock assembly 100 includes a cam member 101 having a generally hemispherically-shaped main body 102. Main body 102 mounts thereon a generally fin-shaped cam 103 which projects sidewardly from an outer surface of main body 102 and terminates in a straight edge 104. The rearwardly facing side of main body 102 defines a circular opening 106 therein which projects into main body 102 and terminates at a flat base wall 107. As shown in FIG. 16, base wall 107 defines therein a vertically-elongate rectangular slot 110 which communicates with a circular recess 111 defined in the frontwardly facing side of main body 102.
Cam lock assembly 100 additionally includes a cylindrically shaped lock shell 112 which is non-rotatably mounted on the front upright wall of a cabinet drawer. Lock shell 112 defines a forwardly opening receptacle 113 for a plug-type actuator 121 (shown schematically in FIG. 17 in dotted lines) which is operable by a key to lock and unlock the cam lock assembly 100. A lock insert or lug 114 is mounted for rotation within lock shell 112, and includes an internally threaded hole 115 for receiving a pinch bolt or screw 116. Screw 116 is engaged within the threaded hole 115 so that the screw head 117 thereof is oriented within opening 106 of main body 102. When the screw 116 is fully tightened within hole 115, the screw head 117 clamps against the base wall 107 along the longitudinal edges thereof. This clamping of the screw head 117 against base wall 107 serves to fix the cam member 101 to the lug 114. The engagement of the lug 114 within slot 110 allows rotation of cam member 101 along with lug 114 when same is actuated as discussed below.
The rotation of the lug 114 relative to the lock shell 112 between the locked and unlocked positions is limited by an annular plate 120 which is nonrotatably fixed to lug 114. Plate 120 defines a peripherally located arcuate recess or inset portion which defines a pair of shoulders (not shown) which are spaced from one another along the circumference of plate 120. The shoulders cooperate with a correspondingly located stop (not shown) which projects outwardly from the rearmost end of lock shell 112. The lug 114 is keyed at a front end thereof for cooperation with the actuator 121. Thus, when locking of the drawers is desirable, a key 122 is inserted into the plug-type actuator 121 and turned. The turning of the key 122 rotates lug 114 and cam member 101 to the locked position as limited by the stop of lock shell 112, causing the fin-shaped cam 103 to rotate upwardly so that the edge 104 thereof makes contact with a horizontal locking bar journalled along the upper and frontmost edge of the cabinet housing. The actuation of the horizontal locking bar by cam 103 in turn raises a vertical locking bar oriented along a side wall of the cabinet. The vertical locking bar includes locking elements which cooperate with the individual drawers to lock same in the closed position.
The cam 103 of the above-described cam lock assembly 100 tends to undergo xe2x80x9ccreepxe2x80x9d over a period of time relative to the lug 114 and the associated screw 116. That is, repeated use of the lock assembly 100, movement of the cabinet, etc., can cause cam member 101 to shift longitudinally from its original installed position relative to lug 114 and screw 116. This shifting of the cam member 101 in turn often results in a misalignment of the fin-shaped cam 103 relative to the horizontal locking bar. The creep of cam 103 from its original position, as set at the time of manufacture and assembly of the cabinet, causes malfunctioning of the lock assembly of the cabinet, which in turn necessitates time consuming and costly readjustment of the position of the cam member 101.
The present invention was developed in order to eliminate or at least minimize the inconveniences caused by creep or shifting of the cam member as discussed above. More specifically, the invention includes a cam lock assembly which permits self-adjustment of the cam member relative to the lug. More specifically, the cam member is provided with a spring-loaded plunger which allows the cam member to float relative to the lug and the associated screw.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.